An Uncle's Love
by JacksonFrost
Summary: Alphard Black loved his nieces and nephews more than anything. He loved them enough to make sacrifices. And his sacrifice is the reason for the scorched mark over his name on the Black family tapestry. One-shot.


**Author's Note:** This is for the Black Family "In Between the Lines" challenge over on Fanfiction Challenges forum. The idea was to explore a lesser-known Black family member with the idea that there is a lot between the lines. I've always wondered about Alphard- why did he risk and lose his inheritance and family status to give Sirius gold? I hope I did him justice. :)

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**An Uncle's Love**

Alphard Black never had any children. He would have wanted some, but he never got around to marrying. When his sister, Walburga, would ask him when he was going to finally settle down and marry a pureblood witch, he would always laugh at her and remind her of the Arabic meaning of his name: the solitary one.

He grew to believe that- that he was the solitary Black and would never find love or companionship. He knew he could have had the pick of the pureblood witches if he wanted, but he never really wanted. He was perfectly happy to live by himself, with only a loyal house-elf for company. The only thing that was missing from his life, Alphard felt, was children.

So Alphard showered his affection on his lovely nieces and nephews. Spunky Bellatrix, brilliant Andromeda, mischievous Sirius, beautiful Narcissa, dreamy Regulus- he loved them all. And somehow, they became better people when he was around them. He got Bellatrix to relax and play like the little girl she was. He made Andromeda stop worrying about keeping the peace and just have fun. He calmed Sirius down while still encouraging his spunk. He made Narcissa crack a genuine smile. He coaxed Regulus out of his shell. He made them all children again.

His brother and sister didn't understand why in the world he would actually _want_ to play with the children- "That's a house-elf's job, Alphard, really!"- but Alphard didn't care. He liked listening to the children's shrieks of happiness when he stepped out of the fireplace, and feeling the warmth of their small bodies as they threw themselves into his arms, and seeing the adoration in their eyes as he told them story after story. His two nephews and three nieces were the highlights of his life.

As the years passed, Alphard was dismayed at how quickly things changed. By 1975, he barely recognized the children he used to consider as good as his own. Bellatrix was a Death-Eater, who had no patience for anything remotely innocent and fun, instead favoring pain and torture and death. Alphard tried to reach out to her, but he was always rebuffed, with a snarl and an angry toss of her head.

Andromeda was gone, blasted off the family tree. She had run off with a Mudblood, but Alphard was willing to overlook that unfortunate detail if Andromeda was happy and in love. He wasn't furious like Cygnus and Walburga, instead, he was rather hurt that she never even said goodbye to him.

Regulus was a sullen teenager now, preferring to spend hours lying on his bed and staring at his ceiling than talk with his uncle.

Narcissa seemed to have lost the ability to really laugh and smile. She instead spent her time brushing her long, golden hair or writing letters to her boyfriend, Lucius Malfoy. Alphard tried to engage her in conversation, but she responded with a blank look, a vaguely polite nod, and a fake smile that pierced Alphard' heart.

And Sirius was a hurt and angry kid who never lost an opportunity to scream at his mother and hurl curses at his father. He would frequently shriek how he hated the entire Black family- never, Alphard noticed wryly, excluding Alphard from the lot.

Really, Alphard shouldn't have been surprised what happened next. But when he opened his door to find Sirius standing there, a knapsack slung across his shoulders, he couldn't contain his cry of surprise.

"Sirius! What are you doing here?" he asked, taking in Sirius' disheveled appearance and grim face.

Sirius gestured at the door. "Can I come in?"

"Of course," Alphard said quickly, closing the door behind him. "Now, please, tell me what's going on."

"What's going on?" Sirius echoed, his mouth twisting in fury. "What's going on is that my bloody parents finally kicked me out of their precious home. They're probably burning my name of the _fucking_ tapestry as we speak."

Alphard raised his eyebrows. "I'm sure it's not that…."

Sirius scoffed at him. "Yes, it _is_ that bad. I finally had it with their horrible ideals and beliefs, and I was bloody done with their insanity and insults and curses so I told them that they could _all _go to hell, and I was through. And my bloody mother shrieked at me that if I walked out that door, I was disowned and no longer a son of her. And you know what I said? I said _good_ _fucking riddance._" He was literally shaking with anger at the end of his speech, turning away from Alphard.

Alphard frowned. "Sirius. I'm sorry. I don't know what to tell you." He paused awkwardly. "I'm glad you came to me."

Sirius laughed humorlessly. "Don't worry. I'm not going to ask you to let me live with you or anything. I'm going to my best mate's house- James Potter. I just wanted to tell you and-" Sirius looked down, rubbing his eyes- "you know, say goodbye."

Alphard felt a wave of emotions wash over him- sadness at the thought of goodbye, relief that Sirius didn't run away from him like Andromeda did, anger that his sister forced Sirius into this position- and choked up. "You're a good kid," he managed. "And I can't let you leave without doing something for you."

Sirius looked at him, his eyes brimming with unshed tears. "You've already done so much for me, Uncle Alphard. You made my childhood- all of our childhoods, really- happy."

Alphard lurched out of his chair and began to pace around the room. He had always considered his nieces and nephews to be the children he never had. And parents make sacrifices for their children, no matter how hard it was (well, good parents do. He didn't suppose his brother or sister made any sacrifices). But he always thought he would be a good parent, and that he was a good uncle. He could, no, he _would_ make a sacrifice for Sirius.

"Sirius," he said gravely, finally stopping his pacing. "I'm going to give you some gold. To help you start your new life."

Sirius stared at him blankly. "You can't. Don't be stupid, they'll disown you for that!"

Alphard sat down, covering Sirius' hand with his own. "They probably will. But I'm willing to take that risk to help you out. You're the son I never had, Sirius. Don't argue, I know what I'm doing. You need the gold, right?"

Sirius shook his head in disbelief. "I mean, yeah, I don't have any, but I don't want to put you in that position." He stood up quickly. "I shouldn't have come."

"Sit down," Alphard thundered. "Yes, you should have come. And yes, I'm giving you the damn gold."

Sirius' shoulders slumped with relief and a huge smile crossed his face. "Thanks," he said, hugging his uncle tightly. "I love you, Uncle Alphard."

Alphard hugged him back, a smile of his own spreading broadly across his face. Who was to say that he never had children of his own?


End file.
